Vol. 2, February 2003

The Professional

A Publication of the Minnetonka Teachers Association

Editor, Mary Tingblad mary.tingblad@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

MM-West, 6421 Hazeltine Blvd., Excelsior, MN 55331

 

~ 2002-2003 Minnetonka Teachers Association Governance Board ~

~ President Mark Chalupsky ~ Vice President Julie Anderson-Simonson ~

~ Secretary Mary Tingblad ~ Treasurer Joseph Ricke ~

~ DEC Gail O’Rourke ~ Deephaven Diane Jost ~ Groveland Pam Wertjes ~

~ Excelsior Mark Broten ~ Minnewashta Melanie Casiday ~

~ Clear Springs Debra Jensen ~ Scenic Heights Jan Sellman ~

~ MM-East Mark Brzezinski & Heidi Johnson ~

~ MM-West Mary Tingblad & Jeri Goodspeed-Gross ~

~ MHS Joseph Ricke, Jan Nelson, J. Beowulf Boswell, & Mike Cutshall ~

 

 

~~ Congratulations, Daryl Seifert! ~~

Daryl Seifert, Reading-Basic Skills specialist at Deephaven Elementary School, has been chosen as a Minnesota Teacher of Excellence. From an initial pool of 134 nominees, 39 teachers have been chosen as Minnesota Teachers of Excellence in the Minnesota Teacher of the Year 2003 program. Over the coming months, the 22-member panel of community leaders who named the Teachers of Excellence will narrow this list to a group of finalists, called Honor Roll Teachers. From this group, the 2003 Minnesota Teacher of the Year will be selected. The 2003 Minnesota Teacher of the Year will be announced on May 4, 2003. Congratulations, Daryl!

                  

~~ MTA News ~~

 

MTA Contract Administration Update

julie.anderson-simonson@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

Contract Administration meetings include the negotiators of the current contract, the MTA President, and the Assistant Superintendent. The purpose of this hour long monthly meeting, is to discuss contractual issues prior to the monthly Meet and Confer meeting. The Contract Administration meeting on February 12, 2003, included Mark Chalupsky, Joseph Ricke, Julie Anderson-Simonson, and Mike Lovett. Judy Trombley also attended as a guest. The following items were discussed:

·        Hiring of coaches and advisors

·        Co-Curricular stipends on Salary Schedule C

·        Retirement plans to be folded into the contract

·        Protocol when school sites are short on reserve teachers

·        Music staffing ratios

·        Leave time for retired teachers under special contract

 

MTA Negotiations Update

mike.cutshall@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

The MTA Negotiations team consists of Joseph Ricke, Mike Cutshall, Mark Chalupsky, and Chuck Kehrberg. The team has been in contact with the Administrative team regarding negotiations. The first meeting will be on February 24, 2003.

The MTA Negotiations team has sent out an e-mail survey to all MTA members. Based upon this survey, the team will formulate our priorities for negotiations. Since legislative action is being considered to freeze teacher salaries and benefits, the MTA team has also been discussing negotiation strategies to deal with this legislation.

          The MTA team is also looking at ways in which to communicate with our members. One of these methods is through e-mail, and the other includes the forming of a Negotiations Council/Settlement Team. This information will be sent out to our members soon. As always, keep the faith and look at the positive side of things. They do exist.

 

Teachers’ Rights Review

mary.benson@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

 

Code of Ethics and Ethical Misconduct

          What is the Code of Ethics? The code is a set of principles defining professional conduct. It applies to all licensed teachers. It is enforceable as any set of state regulations or statutes. The standards of professional conduct are as follows:

1.     A teacher shall provide professional education services in a nondiscriminatory manner.

2.     A teacher shall make reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions harmful to health and safety.

3.     A teacher shall disclose confidential information about individuals only when a compelling professional purpose is served or when required by law.

4.     A teacher shall take reasonable disciplinary action in exercising the authority to provide an atmosphere conducive to learning.

5.     A teacher shall not use professional relationships with students, parents, and colleagues to private advantage.

6.     A teacher shall delegate authority for teaching responsibilities only to licensed personnel.

7.     A teacher shall not deliberately suppress or distort subject matter.

8.  A teacher shall not knowingly falsify or misrepresent records or facts relating to that teacher’s own qualifications or to other teachers’ qualifications.

9.  A teacher shall not knowingly make false or malicious statements about students or colleagues.

10.A teacher shall accept a contract for a teaching position that requires licensing only if properly or provisionally licensed for that position.

 

Who may make a “Complaint of Ethical Misconduct” against a teacher? Any person may bring a charge of ethical misconduct to the Board of Teaching. What happens if a complaint is made?

1.     An investigation of the alleged violation is made.

2.     An attempt may be made to correct improper activities through conference, conciliation, or persuasion.

3.     The Board of Teaching may schedule a disciplinary hearing depending upon the outcome of the investigation and whether attempts at correction produce satisfactory results.

What penalties may be used if a violation is proven?

1.     A letter of censure may be sent to the teacher.

2.     The teacher may be placed on probationary licensure status.

3.     The teacher’s license to teach may be suspended for a period of time.

4.     The teacher’s license may be revoked.

What rights do I have if a complaint is brought against me? You will be notified in writing of the complaint. You are entitled to legal or other representation at each stage of the investigation and hearing.

What do I do if I receive notification of a complaint? Get help at once! Do only one thing—call your MTA Teachers’ Rights Representative immediately. Do not answer questions or fill out forms for the Board of Teaching or its investigator until you have obtained professional advice.

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

~~ Did We Mention…? ~~

          Did we mention how proud we are of you, Daryl? Best of luck to you as the Minnetonka Teacher of Excellence! The MTA is pulling for you—we all want to hear your name announced on May 4, 2003, as the Minnesota Teacher of the Year.

 

~~ News from Education Minnesota ~~

 

Free Resources for Educators

·        Deception and Illusions: Five Centuries of Trompe l’Oeil Painting” illustrates the playful and intellectual nature of trompe l’oeil—the artistic depiction of objects so precisely that those objects appear real. Twelve images are presented from the 115-piece exhibit, which represents the most comprehensive treatment to date of this phenomenon. Check this out at: www.nga.gov/exhibitions/trompe-info.htm.

·        “Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music” contains more than 15,000 pieces of historical sheet music registered for copyright during 1820-60 and more than 47,000 pieces registered during 1870-85. It includes popular songs, operatic arias, piano music, sacred and secular choral music, solo instrumental music, method books and instructional materials, and music for band and orchestra. Search by author, subject, and song title. Visit http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mussmhtml/.

·        “Reading Rockets: Launching young Readers” features parent tips, video clips and transcripts from interviews with reading experts; motivational e-cards grandparents and teachers can send to children; a forum for sharing suggestions; booklists; and answers to key questions. This website, which accompanies the PBS “Reading Rockets” TV series, also provides overviews for the five-part series. Check out this PBS website: www.pbs.org/launchingreaders/.

·        “Create a Graph” helps students create their own graphs and charts. This online tool can be used to bar graphs, line graphs, area graphs, and pie charts. Visit http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/.

·        “Explore Your Knowledge” website challenges students with questions taken from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Visit: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/eyk/index.asp?flash=true.

·        For more freebies, visit the Education Minnesota online community at www.educationminnesota.org. Click on “In the Classroom,” then click on “Free things for your students and classroom.”

 

Education Minnesota Debuts New Look & Features on Web

Watch for a new look and improved features on the Education Minnesgta online community. The site will offer a more contemporary, professional-looking design to update the look and present information more effectively and efficiently.  Members will also enjoy improved navigation, including direct links to the contents of every section from every page, simply by “mousing over” the section name in the navigation bar.

Other features of the new and improved Education Minnesota website include the following:

·        Direct links to Local websites built under the Education Minnesota umbrella, from every page after members log in.

·        The start of customization, with the addition or improvement of such features as market information and weather.

·        The introduction of Education Minnesota’s Access to Savings program, which offers members substantial savings on meals, hotels and services from both national and local businesses.

·        Online professional development opportunities.

Log on to www.educationminnesota.org after February 15, 2003, for a look at the new features, and watch your mailbox after that for the arrival of your new Access membership card!

 

Opportunities for Educators

The State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Award is available to teachers and young people ages 3-25 to implement service-learning projects on National Youth Service Day 2003, April 11-13. National Youth Service Day mobilizes youths to help their communities through service. Fifty grants of $500 are available to youths and 50 grants of $1,500 to teachers to engage classes. The application deadline is February 21, 2003. For an online application, go to www.ysa.org/awards_grant.cfm and click on the “Good Neighbor Service-Learning Award.”

 

Read Across America Resources Available Online

Both Education Minnesota and NEA have online all the materials you need to stage a highly successful Read Across America day at your school. Read Across America takes place March 3^, 2003, the day after Dr. Seuss’ birthday, which falls on a Sunday this year. For the quickest access to ideas and supplies, go to www.educationminnesota.org, and click on “In the Classroom.” For NEA’s materials, go to www.nea.org/readacross.

You’ll find summaries of what other schools did last year to get kids reading, guidelines for use of the Seuss logo, proclamations, frequently asked questions, and all sorts of other help and advice. Both sites also have links to other literacy sites as well as the nuts and bolts of event planning and execution.

~~ News from NEA and AFT ~~

 

NEA Wins a Round in Washington State

          A Washington state judge recently ordered the Evergreen Freedom foundation (EFF) to pay $15,000 in sanctions to the NEA for abusing the judicial process. The NEA victory was the latest development in EFF’s ongoing crusade to challenge NEA and Washington Education Association over the use of member dues. The NEA asked for the sanctions after the conservative group sought and publicized a default judgment against NEA that a judge later rescinded. EFF, a conservative think tank bankrolled by national right-wing contributors, has committed most of its budget in recent years to challenging the WEA and NEA.

 

Inaugural Wellstone Award Goes to Vermont Governor

          The national AFL-CIO honored Governor Howard Dean on January 10, 2003, for his support of the successful effort by the American Federation of Teachers healthcare nurses to unionize the state’s largest hospital. The inaugural Senator Paul Wellstone Award was presented to Governor Dean during the AFL-CIO’s organizing summit in Washington, D.C.

          Governor Dean strongly endorsed the campaign by registered nurses at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vermont, to form a union. Last October, the unit of more than 1,300 nurses voted overwhelmingly to be represented by the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals. It also marked the largest hospital union election win for registered nurses in the nation in almost a year.

 

All Work and No Play? The Value of Recess

          In more and more schools across the country, recess is being scrapped in favor of more school time. In this day of 30 students per classroom and students who enter high school with minimal reading skills and standardized test scores, is there really any time or need for recess?

          While the most common reason stated by school districts for eliminating recess is to allow the schools to focus more on academics, there is also the issue of accident-related lawsuits, the threat of students coming into contact with strangers, and the lack of adults willing to supervise such outdoor activities. Despite these issues, the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists believes that play is an active form of learning that involves the mind, body, and spirit. Read six reasons for protecting time for recess at http://schoolreform.bellaonline.com/articles/art/7428.asp.

~~ What’s New at Your School? ~~

 

MM-East News

          Wedding bells will be ringing on February 15, 2003, for MM-East music teacher Heidi Johnson and her groom Dave Bunde. Best wishes!

 

Groveland News

          Groveland is proud to announce three engagements! Groveland’s art teacher, Jane Meyer is engaged and plans to get married over the Memorial Day weekend. Alissa Udstuen, 2nd grade teacher, got engaged over Winter Break, and will get married on October 18, 2003. Another 2nd grade teacher, Niki Danou, will tie the knot on August 9, 2003. Congratulations to all!

 

 “I-Love-To-Read” Month at MM-West

tami.junkermeier@minnetonka.k12.mn.us

          The MM-West Media Center goes all-out this month in honor of “I- Love-To-Read” Month. Come check out our displays on New Nifty Nonfiction, Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award Nominees, ALA’s reading contest “Drive to Read,” Author Stop, and our very own READ “celebrities” on READ posters. Students have been invited to “Brown Bag Booktalks” in the Media Center during their lunch times on February 13th and 27th, to listen to some great new books.   

ALA (American Library Association) and Morning Star Foods, maker of Hershey chocolate, are sponsoring “Drive to Read” to encourage teens to read. This year’s challenge is to get teens talking about their favorite literary characters. The contest invites students to submit an entry describing which book character seems most heroic to them.

All MM-West students in START/advisory classes are participating in our Valentine Bookmark Contest and Book Donation Project! Bookmarks will be judged in the following categories: Most Creative, Most “I Really Want to Read After Looking at This Bookmark!”, Most Exuberant, Best Reading Slogan, Best Theme, and Most Fun. The bookmarks will be placed in donated books and given to a homeless shelter.

 

So, What’s New at YOUR School?

There are “good news” things happening everyday in our schools. Send your school’s good news to mary.tingblad@minnetonka.k12.mn.us to be included in The Professional. I’ve been told that this is one of the favorite features of the newsletter. It’s the way that we can share all the good things going on with our teachers!

Editorial/Commentary/Opinion Page

Editorials, commentary, opinions, and letters to the editor are not necessarily the position of the MTA. All members are invited to share their unedited views, thoughts, concerns, etc., by submitting them to: mary.tingblad@minnetonka.k12.mn.us, Mary Tingblad, MM-West, 6421 Hazeltine Blvd, Excelsior, MN  55331

 

Smile!

 

          I know, we’ve all heard it a million times--Smile, and the world seems brighter! Let a smile be your umbrella! Have a nice day! That smiley face seems to be popping up everywhere. Why is that? Well, it is a universal symbol that everybody recognizes. Even with my ESL students and families, brand new to America, understand a smile. And that means a lot! I may not be getting through on some things, but if I can get a smile from them, I know that I’m doing OK.

          I’m reminded of that commercial on TV, that at first was cute, then a little annoying, but now it’s hitting the spot again. Or am I crazy? You know that commercial, where someone smiles at someone else, and then that person smiles at another and so on. There are times, when you may not even know it, that someone really could use a smile. You may not even know the impact you have on that other person, but it can mean a lot. Unknowingly, you could be just the shot in the arm that someone else needed when you smiled at him or her. From that moment, you may have changed the whole day for that person. Something as little as a smile, can make a big difference. Now that’s power! Wow, just think of that… and smile!